Lessons Learned

Instructional Technology - International Education - Wellness

Tag: personal learning system (page 1 of 2)

Virtual School Pedagogy – Oldies but Goodies

February 12, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Note: My international school is just starting virtual school for the current school year, so we are now just experiencing what many schools have been doing for most of the year. I posted the following to our Wellness blog.

I hung up my instructional technology hat a ways back, so I can’t offer the latest tools, tips, or techniques that many of our staff use in their virtual learning delivery. I can offer pedagogical strategies that have worked in the past and can definitely be supported through technology to enhance learning in virtual schools.

Concept/Mind Maps

Concept/Mind maps help students make their thinking visible, primarily when representing connections between ideas, events, topics, etc. Concept maps also can be used as collaboration tools.

An excellent way to use concept maps for virtual learning is to use an online provider like Mindmeister. Students can share their Mindmeister concept maps with you to access their thinking, especially for formative assessment of their understanding as the unit of study progresses. Virtual collaboration is supported if you partner with students or place them in groups to work together to use mind maps for multiple purposes. Here is a mind map template for essential questions one teacher provided his students. Look at a blog post describing how students used concept maps to answer the essential questions for their units of study at a couple schools.

Learning Activity Types via TPACK

Several American professors came together in 2010-11 to organize learning activity types (LAT) into nine subject areas supported by technology. They published articles about their efforts. Here is one. They provide research-supported pedagogies in their Learning Activity Types website hosted at the College of William & Mary School of Education. They apply the TPACK construct for planning purposes. Look to their website by going to the left side menu to select from the nine learning activity-type disciplines. The supporting technologies are from 2011, so adapt ones that still exist today and/or find the latest iteration or replacement tool that best supports each pedagogy. Image Source

Multimedia Essays (Media Mashups)

Writing essays is one of the most precious skills that we teach our students. But sometimes, our students can benefit from an alternative learning experience and assessment that engages the full range of their ICL skills. We can differentiate and add complexity to the standard writing process by having students create multimedia essays where they “mash up” various sources of media to communicate their thinking. At the time, a William and Mary doctoral student describes her work with multimedia essays in this podcast. Image Source

Personalized Learning System (PLS)

Students (and teachers) use technology to access information, to make meaning, to create and communicate their learning via a personalized set of resources for learning… a “go-to” 24/7 technology and information access toolkit – a Personal Learning System (PLS).

We guide our students to work as architects designing and maximizing their “learning flow” (think of the term workflow) while also engaging in time management techniques to increase efficiency and purposeful productivity. Self-directed and growth-minded students use devices, apps, Web tools, and information sources, putting themselves in charge of their learning. Here is a web resource describing what a Personal Learning System can look like and a planning document for students to work with. Image Source

Sketchnoting (Visual Note-Taking)

Our students live in a media-rich world. They think in images, video, and sound while constantly making neural connections. The creation apps on phones, tablets, and computers offer students pathways to draw, audio record, insert images/video, and embed hyperlinks to information sources, all personalized. This is where visual note-taking comes in. We can expand note-taking choices beyond text recording into multiple modalities by guiding students to use mind maps, colors, shapes, images, and digital grouping by dragging and dropping objects and connecting lines to record their thinking. Image Source

The Six Thinking Hats

Edward de Bono created this approach to decision-making and problem-solving that guides users to think in terms of types of thinking and perspective. We can apply them for individuals and groups of students to use as they process information. Here is a helpful overview and a teacher’s application in her classroom. Image Source

Thinking Routines

In the book Making Thinking Visible, Ron Ritchhart, Mark Church, and Karin Morisson help readers understand the power of thinking routines to help students process big ideas and make their thinking visible. Teachers routinely use the thinking routines in their regular face-to-face classes. One can also choose from a variety of technologies to also use in virtual school. Here is a dated web resource on the supportive tools one can use. However, the application of the routines is sound. If you are new to the routines, you can review an article by Ron Ritchhart and David Perkins entitled Making Thinking Visible. Also, look to go through the Harvard Project Zero Thinking Routine Toolbox. Image Source

WebQuests

WebQuests are a natural pedagogy for virtual schools because they’re already web-based. They connect inquiry and research skills to students working in teams using their communication skills to present their findings. WebQuests are online research expeditions built by teachers that put the students into roles to find information from selected sites and other resources as they attempt to solve a real problem and/or answer a question. The students in teams analyze, curate, and then use the information to create a learning product to demonstrate their understanding. WebQuests are NOT internet scavenger hunts with students just going through a list of links. True WebQuests have the students performing in the authentic roles of historians, economists, mathematicians, etc. The culminating project is usually a performance task in which the students present their findings while playing their roles or applying the learning to produce a product. Image Source

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A significant wellness connection for these pedagogies is that they engage students in PERMAH while exercising their Character Strengths. Collaboration amplifies Relationships with students using their strengths of kindness, leadership, and teamwork, to name just a few character strength applications. The process of creating definitely has students applying their strength of creativity within the pillars of Engagement and Accomplishment.

So how do we take these oldies but goody strategies and other current innovative and effective practices to spread them throughout our virtual school? One approach would be to form a virtual school design team in each division who become busy bees finding out what’s happening in virtual classrooms elaborating on ideas, and making connections to new approaches. They then cross-pollinate throughout the division and potentially between divisions. 😁

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Home Learning Support Plan and More

February 12, 2021 / / 0 Comments

One thing is to meet with parents to provide a list of home support strategies. It is another to provide a method to help them apply the strategies. The image to the left is a screenshot of one parent’s effort to work with her child to complete a home support plan template I provided her.

The support strategies list provides strategies for building routines and health (i.e., diet and sleep), the physical learning environment (essential for virtual learning), organization skills, and self-control while supporting independence. One can, of course, come up with other categories.

I work with the students to design their personal wellness plans they then take home to share with their parents. The wellness plan is student-centered and managed with some parental coaching. The home learning plan is parent managed with input from the child. The older the child, the more he/she takes ownership of applying the strategies.

And then there is, of course, the Personal Learning System (PLS) and plan that I work with students to complete and implement to have agency over their learning. 🙂

Connecting Personal Learning Systems to Goals, Autonomy & Portfolios

May 14, 2016 / / 0 Comments

PLS

We know that so much of learning is about making connections. 

This goes not just for students but also for teachers. Fortunately, I work with dynamic teachers who enjoy sharing and building off one another’s ideas.

Case in point, I emailed the Personal Learning System (PLS) page of Web Resources for Learning to Jessa Veneman, who teaches Sixth Graders at my school. Jessa responded with the following.

“One of my goals is to create a more autonomous classroom where kids become more aware of their needs, strengths, and learning styles so that they can be more responsible for their own learning.” We then spoke in person, bouncing some more ideas around. This led me to add the following to the Personal Learning System page.

As one colleague pointed out, working with students to construct their Personal Learning System goes hand in hand with furthering their self-understanding, developing their learner profile, and supporting their learning autonomy while moving them to be goal-oriented. The components of one’s PLS (see below) come together, supporting this idea of self-directed learners as we have them use tools to reflect (blog), create (multiple tools), set goals, and document their understanding and goal attainment through their portfolios.

Thanks, Jessa, for helping me make further connections!

Supporting Resources:

Blog Posts> https://lessonslearned.edublogs.org/tag/personal-learning-system/

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Snowmageddon and Virtual School Preparation

January 21, 2016 / / 0 Comments

storm

Is your school/district ready for extended school closure due to weather or other factors? We are preparing for a blizzard here in Virginia as folks in Washington, DC, will experience the full force of winter storm Jonas.

I have written here and spoken often on the Ed Tech Co-Op podcast about the value of developing blended to virtual learning programs in one’s school. There are many reasons for doing both, with one big one being ready to continue learning in case of a big storm like we are about to experience here in Virginia.

In the best conditions, one’s school would form a committee to research, plan and implement a blended virtual learning program. We did this at Hong Kong International School after we had to quickly respond to extended school closure due to an outbreak of SARS. We learned much in reactive mode as we constructed our virtual school to serve our families. One big lesson was that we practiced fire drills, and we needed to practice virtual school.

The virtual school committee began the annual procedure of running a week of virtual school in which teachers, students, and families connected to our online tools for learning. Our experience responding to the SARS closure expanded our blended learning when school reopened. It was a natural step to practice for the possibility that our school could close again. For more insight into our experiences, here is an article describing the response to the crisis.

With many schools having other priorities than planning for virtual school, one can still provide ideas and resources for the short-term closing of one’s school. It might provide a framework to build from in case your school might be closed for several days. Here is an example of a short listing of tools I put together to share with the teachers at my school.

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With the advancing snowstorm and the possibility of another Snowmageddon, here are some ideas to support student learning if we miss more school days. We have several online tools and resources that students can connect to for skill work, inquiry, creation, collaboration, and direct instruction. 

Skill Development:

–DreamBox (students can access at our LR website > Students > Math)

-Web Resources Math and Technology pages for math, typing, and coding skills

-myON

-Tumblebooks and other eBooks accessed at the Library Web page

-The Using Information Web Resources page also has several online reading sites for younger students and information sources for our older students

–Quizlet is a vast collection of flashcards, quizzes, and other searchable resources to share with your students. You can also create your own.

Inquiry:

Access the databases on our Library Web page. Notice the direct link to the databases, but there is also a listing by grade level further down the page. See the attached database and tool password listing. Finding or creating your WebQuest is a terrific way to support inquiry, collaboration, and learning product creation.

Creation and Collaboration:

–Wixie (grades 1-5)

-Google Apps (grades 3-6)

-The Web Resources Creating page has several fun and creative activities for our youngest students.

Direct Instruction:

–Khan Academy and other tutorial sites

-See the PD & ICL Web page for a complete listing of potential instructional resources, including TED Talks, iTunes U, and the idea of sharing educational podcasts for your students to listen to.

-Teacher-created screencast videos and podcasts> I can provide more information if you would like to create a screencast or podcast. Here are a couple of resources to give screencasting a go. Your school computer comes with Snag It, which you might have used for grabbing screenshots. It also can capture video as you open docs and websites, etc., on your screen as you voice record information for your students. If you use a Mac, you can use the built-in QuickTime Player. There are helpful tutorials on YouTube for both tools.

-Blackboard has a built-in podcast recorder (Voice Podcaster) found in the Tools section of your classroom course. Use Wixie as an instructional tool to support blended to-virtual learning. You can create videos that include voice-over explanations of images, diagrams, drawings, etc., that you build into your presentation and then share with your students via the Web. Check out the Wixie resource page for more information, including tutorials.

Sharing Your Virtual School Package:

So how can you share these resources with your students? Several of you are using Google Classroom to post resources. Blackboard is another helpful platform. Another choice is to create a simple site like our Web Resources using Google Sites or a free provider like Weebly. You also can create a Google Doc to share directly with your students if you are in our upper elementary. Consider creating a Google Doc in your personal account for the younger students and making it public. You can then email your parents the link for easy access. Our school Google Doc accounts cannot be shared publicly. The same goes for creating a Google Site using your school account.

Let me know how I can help if you want to use any of these resources and tools. For more information on blended to virtual learning, check out our blended learning page at Web Resources for Learning.

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TPACKing with Web-based Content & Creation Tools

January 2, 2016 / / 0 Comments

teaming

Has your school or district purchased web-based individualized student learning systems like DreamBox, myON, Reflex Math, or Raz-Kids? Do your students use web-based creation tools that provide individual student accounts like Google Apps, MindMeister, or Wixie? If so, who provides the planning, implementation, ongoing support, and data analysis bringing together the technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge of your learning community? How are you making the most of these web-based tools to make a difference for your students? In other words, who is on your TPACKing Team?

We hear a great deal about the implementation of 1:1 device programs. While not as expensive or headline-grabbing (think LA District iPads), the software/web tools make the hardware come alive in the hands of our learners. Schools and districts can spend a lot of money on learning platforms like myON but need help to leverage them so all students can use them when they are underutilized. We can also need teachers to use the provided data to individualize student learning programs further. With barriers of very busy teachers, overcrowded curricula, high-stakes testing, etc., it makes sense to construct plans to support these learning platforms to make them successful.

This post focuses on web-based tools where students have accounts, but it can apply to any school-wide tool rollout. The student accounts provide teachers with valuable formative data and easy digital access to generative student work that teachers use to meet individual student needs further. The purchase of expensive content providers like Britannica, EBSCO, etc., also needs the same planning and collaborative TPACKing. Still, there needs to be data or access to student learning products that can be leveraged with products like Reflex Math or Google Slides.

Connecting to TPACK, I see the rolling out of web tools as a natural place to employ the collaborative team approach to TPACKing. I post about it in this blog, and we discuss it on the Ed Tech Co-Op podcast. Another resource on Team TPACKing is the article that Mark Hofer, Margaret Carpenter, and I wrote entitled “Collaborative Planning and Design for Technology Integration.”

So now, what does this “collaborative planning and design” look like? Let’s say a school is planning to purchase DreamBox, which is expensive. Team TPACKing provides a construct to get everyone on board to put the tool in the hands of the students and to make sure the technology, pedagogy, and math knowledge come together to make the most of the learning experiences. I would bring stakeholders to discuss and share ideas to set goals, plan the implementation, and set recurring dates to review the initiative’s status. Who might come to the table to TPACK together?

I am thinking of the usual suspects (inside joke – see our article):

  • teachers
  • administrators
  • instructional technologist
  • math coordinator
  • learning specialists

While the planning table might get a little too crowded, I would include a few parents and students at some point to get their insights. A big topic, especially in some elementary schools, is homework and screen time. Another reason why I am focusing this post on web tools is because students and teachers should have 24/7 access to as many learning resources as possible. I also believe in the power of blended and personalized learning, with students constructing their personal learning systems with school-provided tools and the ones they find themselves.

Speaking of students, I am a big believer in piloting initiatives to gather data from users’ experiences to plan the full rollout. This is where the pilot’s students, teachers, and parents can come together with the planning team to design better how the full implementation will go if it goes at all. The learning platform providers can set you up for 30-day trials, so compare what various companies provide. There are many competitors for math and reading skill-building and database providers. Design rubrics and feedback mechanisms to further engage your TPACK style “thinking hat” to find the right system provider for the task.

Our article hits on the idea of the “distributive expertise” that a team of educators brings to the planning table, which connects to TPACK and the convergence of the types of knowledge (technology-pedagogy-content). Back to the DreamBox example, the instructional technologist shares technology knowledge, but as we know, several other team members can bring technical expertise to the table. When we think of math content knowledge, teachers and the math coordinator come to mind. They, along with the instructional technologist, administrators, and learning specialists, bring pedagogy knowledge to the planning. Thus the distributive expertise of the TPACKing Team is set to build on the collective ideas of the Team to creatively plan, implement and provide ongoing support for advancing tool initiatives to enhance student learning.

Summing this up, ask yourself, how is your school making the most of your learning tools? Is there a plan in place for each? Who helped develop the plans? Who are your leads in leading and supporting the initiatives? What feedback are you getting from your users and supporters (parents)? What scaffolding is in place to support the tools? Are you taking advantage of your administration’s and staff’s expertise in using the tools? What are you learning from the data provided by the student accounts? Over time, how might you adapt your use of the tools to enhance learning for your students?

And as you look at the technology, pedagogy, and content aspects of the learning platforms, remember that, in most cases, the technology is simply the delivery system. In the past, the paper provided the math, English, ESL, etc., content in books and workbooks. The tools are about the skills and content learning of the discipline they support. This should guide you in deciding who will lead, present, and guide the learning. We must understand that our world is digital and not let technology be a barrier for teachers or parents. Keep focusing on the learning goals, whether math, English, science, or whichever subject area.

With the start of 2016, it may be time for a new year’s resolution to assess your community’s use of learning tools to bring your TPACKing Team together to find ways to impact learning for your students!

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Personal Learning System (PLS)

December 20, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Toolbox

Students (and teachers) who use technology to access information while using digital tools to create and communicate develop a personalized set of resources for learning – a “go-to” technology and information toolbox – a Personal Learning System (PLS). They work to maximize their “learning flow” (think about workflow for those in the work world). 

Finding and using active, organized, and collaborative tools are critical to managing individual and group learning projects. Self-directed students use devices, apps, web tools, and information sources, putting themselves in charge of their learning. Students also need to be project managers who engage their PLS as they plan for long-term assignments while often working as team members. 

Active and independent students in command on the bridge of their learning ship are ready for blended to full-out virtual learning opportunities. Engaging with the school Learning Management System (LMS) and other platforms for collaboration and creation furthers our students to trek into expanded learning beyond the school and regular hours of learning.

A Personal Learning System (PLS) can include supportive tools in a variety of categories. The following are a handful of options among many. 

  • Creation- Learners are shifting away from generative software that ties their creativity to a device. While there are many cloud-sharing services, it is making more and more sense to use web-based creation tools for 24/7 access and collaboration with partners and teachers. The list is long for these style creation tools, with several noted bloggers constantly writing about new options for web-based creation tools and tools that support all the PLS categories listed here. Here are a few bloggers to follow. Kathy Schrock | Larry Ferlazzo | Richard Byrne. There are several curated lists of tools to keep an eye on. 101 Web Tools | 21st Century Tools | Top 100 Tools for Learning
  • Communication– We use e-mail, phones, and social networks to connect with others. Examples: Gmail, Hangouts, texting, phone calls, Skype
  • Collaboration– Communicating to share ideas, work on projects and innovate draws upon and develops skills for 21st-century learning and the workplace. Technology facilitates the process of developing, organizing, and sharing those ideas. Examples: Google Apps, Moodle (LMS), MindMeister
  • Curation of Information– Personal Learning Systems are more effective with a place to store, organize, and share the digital information we consume and create. Examples: Google Drive and Keep, Scoop. it! along with a Scoop.it! collection of PLS tools, Dropbox, Diigo, Pocket,
  • Documentation of Information– We need places and modalities (ex., voice-to-text) to record and responsibly cite the ideas we gather from others and make our thinking visible. Examples: Noodle Tools, Evernote, Notability, MindMeister, Siri, Google Now, PaperPort Notes, Google Docs for typing and voice recording to text, Audioboo
  • Project Planning– Planning for projects that involve creating a learning product engages students in using many tools in their learning system. Watching students use their Information & Communication Literacies (ICL) and their PLS tools can be a fascinating aspect of teaching. Scaffolding does need to be in place to support students, whether working individually or in teams, as they manage their time and resources to be efficient and productive. What can support this process is to provide students with a project planning template with guiding questions and supportive ideas to have them create their plans. Regarding ICL, the plan could be called the ICL Project Plan. This blog post offers a few ideas about guiding students to create an ICL Project Plan. 
  • Reference and General Information Gathering– Remember when we had a dictionary, thesaurus, calculator, and an encyclopedia within easy reach of our workspace? Today we have online versions of each and various apps on our devices. Examples: English dictionary/thesaurus apps, Spanish dictionary apps, French dictionary apps, language translators, Britannica, iTunes for Podcasts, Chrome Browser with Extensions, and one’s school library Web site with its list of databases. Adaptive technologies like the Rewordify Web site help students simplify text above their reading level to make it more understandable. The growing Open Educational Resources (OER) is another area for students to connect to for information. 
  • Task and Time Management– The paper planner and calendar do not provide all the services offered by a web-based event and task management calendar. We can now easily access our time management systems across our computing platforms and integrate appointments and tasks into our e-mail. We can often share our appointments and timelines with team members to support collaboration. Examples: Google Calendar, Todoist, Wunderlist
  • Tutorials and Courses– Developing lifelong learners who know how to learn independently is one of our primary goals. Knowing where to go to not only gather information but also learn specific skills via online tutorials is so essential. Examples: iTalki and Duolingo for languages, Vimeo Education and Khan Academy for across-the-board tutorials, Knewton for individualized tutorials, and iTunes University.

This post originates from the Personal Learning System page of the Web Resources for Learning Web site. Also, check out the Edtech Co-Op podcast, where a couple of years ago, Mark and I talked about the announcement from Apple for iBooks and our thoughts on how students could personalize them. The show offers our initial thinking about personal learning systems.

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Virtual Tech Courses

March 27, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Virtual learning is a topic we recently spoke to on the Edtech Co-Op podcast. The discussion reminded me of a talk many years ago with our high school instructional technologist at Hong Kong International School (HKIS). We discussed the computer programming course he taught. The context was a meeting of the instructional technologists from each of our four divisions about online learning as we had run a virtual school for a month in 2003 when SARS struck Hong Kong.

We were thinking about the power of the HKIS brand in Asia and our regional leadership for technology integration. The idea was to start offering fully online courses for HKIS students and interested students from around the region. While this idea was not implemented, it did bring us back to the computer science course and how it would be an excellent class to teach virtually. International schools used the Virtual High School, now called The VHS Collaborative, to provide courses when they needed more teachers or many students to run courses efficiently. It also would be easy to run a computer programming course in-house through our MyDragonnet learning management system.

Back to the present day, in recent chats with directors of technology from two leading independent schools in Washington, DC, we discussed where their respective schools are in offering online courses. There are many reasons for providing students access to virtual courses, but the question arose regarding how to offer them. Does one do them in-house or through a provider like The VHS Collaborative, K12, or the Online School for Girls? Several questions arose about how the courses would connect to the mission of the schools, who would teach the courses, whether virtual courses take the place of regular classes in the student’s schedule, etc. It was interesting for me as an instructional technologist to hear about the needs of the students and teachers to get me thinking about how to design the process of deciding how to offer virtual learning opportunities.

Connecting back to my experiences at HKIS, it became clear to me that one option for these schools would be to offer their technology and Information and Communication literacy (ICL) courses online instead of teaching them during the regular school day. The instructional technologists at each school have the skill set and content knowledge (i.e., TPACK) to design and deliver courses in either a hybrid or a fully online fashion. The schools could pilot this effort to meet not only the student’s learning needs but also a model for interested teachers how they might also provide virtual courses. It could be an easy first step towards providing virtual learning for each community.

Another thought is to build on the badge movement for virtual learning offerings. The instructional technologist, librarian, and other interested teachers could build mini-courses focused on specific skills. Examples could be learning how to use various apps on the iPad for student workflow and productivity, using apps for editing images and video, providing a mini course in sound design in presentations, etc. Students could earn badges to represent their certification in reaching the standards set for each mini-course. Instead of taking up time in their daily course schedule, the students could work independently through the schools’ learning management system and other online collaborative tools.

This line of thinking connects to what we are doing at Alexandria Country Day school, whereby the Fifth Grade provides “just in time” instruction with follow-up online tutorials for students to explore further how to use various apps and Web 2.0 tools. One of our science teachers, Sara Stein, looks to her students as learning partners when new apps are introduced to the class. The students use their ICL skills to find tutorials to self-teach and then provide guidance for other students during class meeting times.

This supports my belief that my job is to help each student build their ICL tool belt by the end of the Fourth Grade. While their ICL skills are far from complete, the students have the foundation skills and know how to find tutorials and experts among their co-learners to self-teach. This connects to constructing one’s personal learning system that empowers and skills students to use ICL to become more effective learners.

eFolios, Reflecting, Documenting and Workflow

February 21, 2013 / / 1 Comment

I am going to ramble here, but the thoughts are all connected just as we work to help students connect their ideas and reflections. 🙂

eFolios:

We piloted eFolios last year in the Fifth Grade. One goal was to help our students reflect on their learning while setting goals for future growth. Teaching students how to reflect and make connections in their learning is a challenging task. Yet, it should be central to every school’s culture and mission.

To also guide the students to find evidence to support their reflections is an additional skill that takes time for students to grasp. We supported the reflection process by having the students respond to guiding questions around our Portrait of A Graduate (POG) attributes (Independent Learner, Communicator, Community, and Balanced) while providing evidence of their work toward reaching the POG attributes. The students met with their parents at the end of the year as part of our student-led conference system, using their eFolios to communicate their growth. This year, the eFolios are being rolled out to the rest of the Middle School students.

We use the eFolio module of our learning management system (Haiku), where we insert a template with directions and questions to guide the students as they reflect and record their ideas into the template. Here is a link to a draft of our eFolio template. It provides one approach to have students review their learning from a course perspective and one with the Portrait of a Graduate approach. As noted, we had the students use the Portrait of a Graduate focus. The template can provide practical ideas for other schools using eFolios or looking to do so.

Our grade-level advisers are now working together to review the guiding questions in the template for each of the four POG dispositions. The questions are being refined and differentiated for and within each grade level. As we know, a Fifth Grader’s ability to grasp complexity and work with open-ended questions can be quite different from an Eighth Grader’s.

A further connection is to consider having teachers and administrators develop eFolios as part of their professional growth experience. eFolios can also be used in partnership with teacher coaches and administrators to be used in teacher appraisal systems. This leads to the next topic of how students and teachers document the evidence/artifacts to be used in their folios.

Documenting Information:

I have written several posts about students creating their personal learning systems of Web resources, software, and hardware tools. I will remember to include teachers and administrators in future posts as they also work to use their personal learning systems to gather and document information, curate it, and communicate their learning and professional growth.

The students at our school are using their iPads to document examples of their learning. The next step beyond using examples of work from Pages documents, links to Prezis, video projects, etc., is to help our students use their technology literacy to choose tools to record their thinking about the work they are producing.

Many of us have moved from paper and pencil to digital tools to record ideas, reflections, goals, etc. On the iPads, the students might use Evernote, Notability, mind maps, voice recording, and the camera for screenshots, still shots, and video. A wide variety of apps assist us in recording our thinking.

The tools are easy to put into the hands of our students. The more significant challenge is to help the students be more reflective about their learning and go to the next step to record their ideas throughout the year. Making this recording habitual is another teaching and learning task that will take some time. But once the students, teachers, and administrators get into documenting their thinking, they will be ready to bring their learning artifacts and reflections into their eFolios.

Workflow:

Mark occasionally mentions how he manages his workflow on the Edtech Co-Op podcast. This led me to think further about how our Information and Communication Literacies (ICL) curriculum includes targeted lessons to help students not only find information but also help them manage and eventually communicate their understanding. An example of an ICL lesson is when we teach how to use Noodle Tools for research documentation, synthesizing information, and creating a Google Document to communicate one’s findings. Here is a link to a post from our school blog that covers it.

What we need to work on regarding eFolios is helping students build a system for processing and synthesizing their recorded reflections to then publish their understanding in their eFolio. This workflow challenge will need to be differentiated for groups of students and eventually individualized for each student as they build their workflow system, including one’s personal learning system tools to use in this process.

As I like to provide tangible examples of ideas presented here, I look to review a WebQuest we used several years ago at an international school in Taiwan. The Middle School there started in Grade 7. As the school’s culture was very progressive and one where students used a lot of technology, we created WebQuest as an orientation to the Middle School, connecting it to the students’ study of culture in the social studies curriculum. There were no iPads or similar devices during that time, so WebQuest doesn’t include any information about apps. If I were to write up a similar WebQuest for my current school, it would include information on using iPads/Android tablets and smartphones.

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Third Graders and Workflow (Learningflow)

January 17, 2013 / / 3 Comments

What is your workflow system? Which tools do you use in your personal and professional world to manage information in performing tasks? In education, we talk more about a student’s personal learning system, but it still comes down to work/learning and the process of being efficient and successful. Students use hardware, such as iPads, computers, and phones loaded with software/apps that help them find information, process and curate it, and communicate their findings and understanding.

The Third Graders at my school are on track to develop their own personal learning systems. The image above is a screenshot of one way the students are researching specific animals. The left side of the image is of a browser open to the Encyclopedia Britannica. The right side is of the Inspiration mind mapping software.

Many of the Third Graders use this split screen technique to read from websites to process their findings and record the information into the notes attached to each category symbol in Inspiration. Other students like a full view of the website and their mind map. They read from the website, minimize the window, and then maximize the mind map from the system tray to record their notes.

The Third Graders began developing their personal learning system last year while working on the ColonialQuest WebQuest. They used websites and books to record their notes in paper notebooks. This year, they use paper to record notes from books they read in the classroom. They will draw from the paper and digital notes to write their papers.

As they progress through Lower School into Middle School, the students will start using our Haiku learning management system, more Web 2.0 tools for creativity and collaboration, Noodle Tools for research, Google Apps for content creation and sharing, MindMeister for creativity, planning, and collaborating and many apps on the iPads that they will use to support their learning needs and styles best.

Personal Learning System- Graphically Represented

June 4, 2012 / / 1 Comment

Mark and I have mentioned on the podcast and written about the value of students and teachers setting up their personal learning systems on their devices. The idea of a toolkit with websites, Web 2.0 tools, apps, widgets, etc., where one can easily access information, analyze it, create new knowledge, and communicate it is essential to help us be efficient and productive.

MindMeister put out their version of a personal learning environment, listing the tools with links. One could adapt their mind map for easy access to tools, use another interface like Symbaloo, or create their web page home screen with links to sites, etc. There are many interface choices to choose from.

Thanks to Nishant Mehta for the link.

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